"Ah! Good afternoon, Principal!"
Chu Wentian's sudden appearance startled Luo Bing, and he hurriedly straightened up and greeted him.
In truth, the Rinnegan's Insight ability had already alerted him to the principal's approach.
He had just deliberately chosen to mess around a little and hadn't stopped Cheng Shiya from calling him "Dad."
All this time, Luo Bing had held a fairly good impression of the principal. After all, his yearly scholarships couldn't have happened without Chu Wentian's support.
They had spoken privately a few times before.
From those conversations, Luo Bing could tell that the principal genuinely admired his spirit of resisting fate and fighting for a better future.
"I'll be heading off now then. Goodbye, Principal."
Cheng Shiya offered a quick greeting and fled with her face covered, as if escaping for her life.
Before leaving, she shot Luo Bing an angry glare.
It's all this bastard's fault—forcing me to say it!
Now I've completely embarrassed myself in front of the principal!
Her carefully maintained image of a refined young lady had utterly collapsed.
"I really didn't expect you to awaken an S+ talent. Not simple at all."
Watching the flustered girl leave, Chu Wentian turned back to Luo Bing with clear appreciation.
Luo Bing chuckled lightly. "I was just lucky."
That was the truth.
He had to admit—thankfully, the system had appeared.
Otherwise, he would have ended up back on the same old path: working in a factory, living an unremarkable life.
Now, with the Rinnegan as his support, he was determined to climb to the very top of the world—
To stand above others… above others above others above others—
Chu Wentian, unaware of the deeper reason, took his words as modesty and nodded approvingly.
Then he sighed.
"It's a pity you can't become a Beast Tamer. Otherwise, you wouldn't even need to participate in tomorrow's university admission assessment."
"As the first person in history to awaken S+ talent, the world's top universities would be fighting to recruit you as a special admission student, offering you the highest possible待遇."
"What a shame."
Luo Bing nodded in agreement. "After all, the Beast Taming system has squeezed out the living space of other spiritual paths."
After living in this world for several years, he understood the unspoken rules all too well.
"I came to ask you something," Chu Wentian continued. "Do you plan to give up on tomorrow's admission assessment?"
Hearing this, Luo Bing immediately understood.
Tomorrow's university admission assessment was essentially a trial held on a developed artificial spirit beast island.
Newly awakened Beast Tamers would be sent there to search for spirit beasts compatible with their spiritual energy and form contracts.
After all, not every Beast Tamer awakened with a Guardian Spirit Beast.
For those without one, this assessment was the best chance to obtain their first contracted spirit beast.
Afterward, representatives from various universities would select students based on the compatibility between the Beast Tamer and their spirit beast.
However, Luo Bing's awakening was not a Beast Taming–type ability.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be able to contract a spirit beast at all.
Even if he attended the assessment, it would be pointless.
That was why Chu Wentian had asked.
After thinking it through, Luo Bing smiled.
"Even so, I still want to go and take a look."
As long as he could scrape together one million Federation Credits before tomorrow and unlock the Six Paths – Animal Path, granting access to the Summoning Technique, he should be able to contract a spirit beast.
After all, the Rinnegan had already been modified by the system to fit this world's spiritual framework.
Summoning techniques and spirit beast contracts should be interchangeable.
Seeing Luo Bing's determination, Chu Wentian nodded in understanding.
"It is the most important assessment of your life. There's no harm in seeing it through."
"Even if you're not admitted, it's fine. I've accumulated quite a few connections over the years in the education system. I can arrange a decent position for you."
"After all, you're still an S+ spiritual user. Even if you're not a Beast Tamer, you still have far more room to grow than ordinary people."
With that, Chu Wentian patted Luo Bing on the shoulder.
It unexpectedly stirred something in Luo Bing's chest.
He had arrived alone on Blue Continent Star, starting out as an orphan.
The hardships he'd endured didn't need spelling out.
He had survived until now purely through his own efforts.
Aside from Cheng Shiya, the principal was the second person who genuinely cared about him.
"Thank you, Principal."
Luo Bing bowed deeply.
Chu Wentian nodded slightly, removed the spatial ring from his finger, and placed it into Luo Bing's hand.
"This is my graduation gift to you," he said.
"A leftover non–Beast Taming spiritual technique, and some energy stones. You'll need them."
"The way you chase your dreams reminds me of my younger self. Go on—don't give up so easily like I did."
Luo Bing didn't refuse. He silently slipped the ring onto his finger.
He was itching to check what was inside, but out of respect, he restrained himself.
"Thank you very much for your support. If one day I stand at the peak of this world, you'll receive a generous return."
"And I believe that day won't be far off."
Fueled by passion, Luo Bing boldly planted a flag.
Chu Wentian froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Good kid! That's the kind of arrogance I like. Just like my granddaughter—arrogant to the bone. I'll introduce you two someday. You can help smooth out her pride a bit."
The old and young—kindred spirits—chatted for a while longer.
Before they knew it, the awakening ceremony had come to an end.
Soon after—
Luo Bing returned to his rented apartment.
The moment he closed the door, he immediately began examining the spatial ring Chu Wentian had given him.
"A Fine-grade storage ring?!"
After inspecting it carefully, Luo Bing sucked in a sharp breath.
Spiritual artifacts were graded as:
Common, Fine, Rare, Epic, Legendary.
Among all artifacts, storage rings were absolute necessities.
As a result, even a Common-grade storage ring cost two to three times more than other artifacts of the same tier—around 400,000 to 500,000 Federation Credits.
If even the lowest-grade ring was that expensive, the Fine-grade one he'd been given was priceless.
Without two to three million credits, it wouldn't even be up for discussion.
After estimating its value, Luo Bing was ecstatic.
Now the funds to unlock the Six Paths of Reincarnation finally had a source.
Tomorrow was spirit beast–capturing day. The most urgent task was unlocking the Animal Path and activating the Summoning Technique.
That way, he could seize the opportunity to contract a spirit beast during the assessment.
Only by contracting a high-quality spirit beast could he enter his ideal university—
And then flirt with senior sisters—
No, wait—
Then become a Beast Tamer who resisted alien beast invasions and walk straight toward the peak of life.
Still, he hadn't yet decided whether to sell the storage ring.
A Fine-grade ring was something he needed as well.
If he ever went hunting alien beasts in the wastelands, the valuable materials from their corpses would need storage.
"Let's see what else is inside the ring."
Grinning ear to ear, Luo Bing checked the storage space.
Several source stones radiating dense spiritual energy—some eighth-rank, some ninth-rank.
And an old, tattered ancient book.
Source stones ranged from Ninth Rank (lowest) to First Rank (highest).
The higher the rank, the purer the spiritual energy contained within.
Absorbing their energy could directly raise a spiritual user's cultivation level—and far more efficiently than meditation.
Of course, once all the energy was absorbed, the stone would turn into worthless rock.
Ding!
"Source stones detected nearby. Absorb to increase Rinnegan advancement progress?"
"Absorb," Luo Bing answered without hesitation.
Instantly, the spiritual energy from the six source stones surged into his body.
Pure spiritual power flooded through him, refining his body again and again.
Luo Bing could feel his meridians growing tougher under the powerful energy's wash—
His physical body undergoing a complete transformation.
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